Table-leg fastening



(No Model.)

J. RITOHEY. TABLE LEG FASTENING.

I Patented Jan. 16, 1894.

/7? a e 27hr UNI ED" S ATES PATENT OFFIcs.

JAM-ES RITCHEY, OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA. v

TABLE-LEG FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,992, dated January 16, 1894.

Application filedApiil 4, 1893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it-known that I, J AMEs RITOHEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evansville, in the county of Vanderburg and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastenings and Bracings for-Legs of Knockdown Tables; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the'same.

The present invention relates to a device tail dealer, which means shall'be very simple,

of construction and, above all, be cheap of manufacture.

I am aware that prior to my invention a metallic corner bracket has been used to connect the side rails of the table frame and to provide for fastening the legs between the adjacent spaced ends of the rails by means of a bolt which serves as the pivot by a cam lever that impinges or rides against segmental cam faces on the corner iron orbracket; but in my improvement I construct the bracket and arrange the parts in a manner to secure a wedging action as the table-leg is moved endwise into position between the adjacent spaced ends of the table rails so that it is only necessary for the dealer to place the legs in position in order to securely fastenthem to the table frame and at the same time secure the necessary brace to the rails of the table frame and to the leg, the operation being easily and quickly accomplished by an unskilled person and the device being simple and cheap.

With these ends in view, I employ a cast metal corner bracket or angle iron formed with a longitudinal vertical slot and inclined bearing surfaces or ways on opposite sides of the slot, said ways being tapered or projected from the lower end of the slot toward the upsennno. 469,060. (No model.)

web which stands out from faces of the angle iron and the inner edge of said web is recessed or constructed to form an'opening through which the bolt head and the washer on the leg can be easily'passed in order to adjust the bolt head and washer into position to ride against the tapered or inclined ways on the angle iron when the leg is shoved into place between the adjacent ends of the table frame. 7

The invention further consists in the combination and construction of parts as will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The accompanyingdrawings fully illustrate my improvement, in which Figure 1 is an elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line a:.'n of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa horizontal sectional view on the plane indicated by the dotted line y-y of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the metallic bracket or corner iron.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

A designates the corner iron or bracketwhich is made or cast in a single piece of metal. This bracket has the flanges B, B, on opposite sides of, and at different angles to, the plate 0 and the web D which unites the lower edge of the plates and the flanges B. The lower edge of the plate 0 is cut away to provide the opening a, and the ,inner edge of the web 'D adjacent to the plate 0 is recessed as at '61 so that an enlarged opening is provided at the inner lower edge or angle of the bracket A for the purpose of readily passing the bolt head and washerthrough the bracket in the act of adjusting and fastening the table leg to.the frame, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

The plate 0 of the bracket or corner-iron is further provided with a longitudinal vertical slot E which opens at its lower end into the opening provided at the inner angle or edge of the bracket or corner iron, and on opposite sides of this slot are formed integral ways or bearing surfaces F, F, that extend longitudinally of the plate alongside of the slot E therein, said ways or bearing surfaces being tapered so that they incline gradually outward from the lower end of the slot toward the upper end thereof as indicated very clearly by Fig. 4. The flanges B of the bracket or corner iron are pierced transversely to pro vide the holes through which pass the screws that fasten the corner iron 'to the side rails.

The table frame has the usual side rails G, G, which are so arranged that their inner ends are separated or spaced sufliciently to accommodate the leg H which is made square in cross section, or of other desired shape, so as to 'fit snugly between and abut squarely against the adjacent ends of the rails.

I is the bolt or lag screw which is fixed in' the table leg H at such an angle that theinnert-sutrface of bolt-head 41 will be parallel to the inclined surfaces F, F, and at the proper height-so that the head and the washerllies .atsuch a distance from the leg that it will pass into :theopening and slot of lthe cor ner,

' braeketor iron; andon this bolt is fitted thel Washer J that :rides against the inclinedways or'bearing faces F of the bracket oricorner iron.

'K is itherusual top which is fixed :to the table frame so that its angles or corners lieover theiaQ-jacent ends of the rails 1G :and conceal;

properlyfastenedito'the legs; butrforcompact g arrangement of the parts, the legs are steredi vided with th bolt-opening d at its inner thespaces between :them. 5 The table is made up at the factory by fastoning the corner irons or brackets toit-hei side rails in :a manner to leave theadjacent ends of'the rails out-of contact, the top K is fias- .tened :tothe frame, and-the boltsor lag screws g within thGttflblBfl'EtlllG1111116 usual manneri se that ythetable can be transported. 'lo -conneet the legs ntoxthe frame and complete the article, it :is only necessary for the dealer to remmietthe legs'from thefra-me, and 1311611103011 legtis fastened "in place simply byyadiusting theilegs between the adjacent ends of two; rails, with the :bolt in the openinggand slot of-: the corn,er iron or bracket, and then shoving the leg up into position and against the top, duringwvhich adjustment theiwasherrideson the tapered ways Fiand secures a wedging action between thebolt and the corner iron which senves to draw :the leg into position against the ends of therrails G, G, andfirm-lyfasten the leg in place. It is evident-that the weighttof the tableserves to press thecorner iron-so that the inclinedways properly clamp and confine the bolt and also the leg; but ifit is desired to increase the friction between the inclined Ways of the bracket and the washer, it is only necessary to give the bolt or lag screw a fraction of a turn and thus draw the washer against the inclined ways.

It will be readily seen that the table leg can be easily fastened to the frame and be se-' curely braced thereto, and that the leg can be clamped by shoving or forcing the same endwise into position between the rails of the frame, thus dispensing with the separate clamping devices which have to be "manipulated by hand, thus materially simplifying :thedevice and making it cheaper of manufacture. v

What I claim is 1. In -ak -nockdow n -table,the"bracket encorner iron having its flanges joined bythe vertical and horizontal websiand \provided with the enlarged bolt-openingdatitheinnerlower corner where said websjoin teach other, gthe longitudinal slot E in thezvertical webhaving its-lower end opening into said boltaholaand the tapered ways .or bearings 13 on opposite sides of the slot E, combined with ,a table frame to which the bracket or "corner iron .is fastened,,and:a leg provided witlta boltiadapted :to pass through said bolt-opening and to bind on theinclinedwaysF'astheleg isxforced endwise into position betwe'enthe rails ofrthe table frame, substantially ,as :and fortthe purposes descrizbed. a

2. In a knockdown table, itliehraeketortcorner iron having its right rangledsides joined by the vertical and horizontal :webs and pro lower cornerntheys ngle continuous ilot-E tha extends from the bolt-hole ip into the vertical web, and the tapered Ways orgbearingsin- :tegraI withthe verticalweb on oppositesides of the r310!) therein, combined-with ;a table frame to the railsiof which the sides "of the bracket are fixed, [th l g, and the inclined bolt or -lag;sc rew lined in the legyta-ndadapted to bind on the inclined ways :as the leg is forced into position between the railsof the table frame, substantiallyas and forrthe purposes described.

testimony whereof Iaffixmysignature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT .D. RIQHARDSON, WINNIE M. MURPHY.

v oo t 

